Road-cart coupling



7 (No Model.)

B. D. SHAW.

ROAD CART COUPLING.

No. 395,296. Patented Dec. 25, 1888.

Witnesses.

Nin- 'rArns PATENT Prion,

BENJAMIN DANA SHAW, OF BEVERLY, OHIO.

ROAD-CART COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 895,296, dated December25, 1888.

Application filed September 27, 1883. Serial No. 286,592. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN DANA SHAW, a citizen of the United States,residing at Beverly,in the county of \Vashington and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Road- Oart Coupling; and I do declare thefollowing to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

The special object of my invention is to dispense with the ordinaryfifth-wheel of vehicles and couple the axles by a reach or pole with ajoint, allowing a vertical as well as a horizontal motion to the pole orshaft gear at the front axle. By this means the running-gear, with poleor shafts rigidly attached, may freely turn in a vertical plane and thusallow two or more road-carts of any make to be coupled with ease andconvenience.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a perspective view of -my invention applied,and Fig. 2 a vertical section on the dotted line 00 0c of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, A represents the curved bar, under and to which I makefast the pole E, where two horses are used, or the shafts where only oneis employed. Through the rear fastening of said pole pass the transverseaxle-rods F F, which are connected by the spacers G G, then extended,and finally bent to form the journals ff. The axle-rods F are curved atf rest on the coiled sprii'igs f and have the upper ends fastened to theunder side of the bolster or the cart-bed, while the spring is held bynuts in the stirrup I and on the rod by the keys .T. The two rods F Fthus form an axle which consists of two torsion-springs supporting theframebar A, tongue E, and bolster D or cartseat.

O is the coupling-pole held by the kingbolt B, passing through themiddle of the bolster D, and provided with the end nut, I). Between thebolster and the bolt-head, as well as the nut, I place a rubber ring orspring, H, which, in connection with the slot (1 in the bolster, allowsfor the vertical play of the running-gear with rigidly-fastened pole orshafts.

In coupling two road-carts together the king-bolt may be rigidlyattached to an axle or any convenient part of a forward cart and passthrough ahole washered, as above specified, in the end of the reach orcoupling pole. Of course I can, in the same way, couple the fore andhind gears of a carriage or wagon where the pole is rigidly attached tothe front gear, in which case the bed becomes the coupling-pole, Thepoint of coupling must be far enough behind the axle to make the poleand its attachments approximately balance the weight of the persons inthe cart.

The advantages of my invention are as follows: First, the readiness withwhich two or more road-carts may be coupled together, to accommodate agreater or less number of passengers; secondly the fewness of partsliable to get out of order, rattle, or work loose, and the total absenceof a fifth-wheel to rub; thirdly, the relief to the horse in having sucha small proportion of the weight to press on his back or neck; fourthly,the freeaction of the pole vertically and laterally, and the freedom ofthe cart-bed from being twisted or strained in passing over obstructionsin the road; fifthly, the light running and flexibility of the vehicle,which is produced by combining a rigid pole or shafts with a joint allowing a vertical as well as a horizontal motion to the pole or shaftgear.

Having thus described all that is necessary to a full understanding ofmy invention, what I claim as new, and desire to protect by LettersPatent, is

1. The combination of the pole E, axlerods F F, curved bar A, andbolster or cart-seat, all rigidly connected and turning with theaxle-journals, substantially asshowu and do scribed.

2. An axle formed of two torsionsprings, F F, each carrying a 'journahf,and bendf, in combination with supporting springs f spacers G G, and therear end of tongue E, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, with a reach or coupling-pole, l, and a king-bolt,B, of a bolster or seat having the slot (1, and the rubber rings orsprings H, substantially as and for the pun pose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN DANA SIIAVV.

Vitnesses:

J. O. PRESTON, G. M. GRUBB.

